Chapter 16  

The moment Zhen Lang opened the door he saw a face with a stiff smile. Two rows of white teeth shone brightly in the light and the silly expression seemed to be carved out like a statue.

"Is your face smeared with setting lotion?" He looked at the person in front of him from top to toe and as he closed the door.

The bag in his hand was immediately snatched over by someone and the force was so great that he was nearly dragged down. Jia Shao was holding on to his bag with a fawning look and her pair of eyes was sparkling. No matter how one looks at her, she seems like a puppy begging for food.

Zhen Lang looked down at himself and then looked at her again. "What do you want to tell me?"

Out of habit, she jumped a big step backward. Jia Shao cleared her throat and said. "Er......I want to treat you to dinner."

His handsome eyebrows lifted slightly. "Treat me to dinner?"

She quickly nodded her head.

Suddenly he smiled and shook his head. "Are you cooking? No thanks. I still want to live a few more years."

Instantly her pleasant expression changed ferocious. Jia Shao could not help but move her body like her habitual warm-up exercise.

But very quickly that expression was replaced by her fawning expression. Jia Shao smiled and said. "I will treat you to a dinner outside."

With a playful expression on his face, Zhen Lang stared at Jia Shao making her feel very uncomfortable. "Tell me. What do you want from me?"

Is this considered he had seen through her ruse?

It's alright if he could see through her since she is used to it anyway.

"The house I was staying in is to be demolished. I want to stay here for a few days and as soon as I find a place, I will move out." Thinking for a while, she added. "I will pay you the rent."

"Just this?" There was a probing look in Zhen Lang's eyes. "In the past, you always walk in and out of here without any guilt. How come suddenly you are so polite today?"

How can he be so sharp? If he carries on looking at her like this, she will not be able to carry on.

"Well, for the time being, I don't want to fight with you. Can we declare a truce?" She pursed her lips and said in a soft voice.

Zhen Lang did not say anything and just look at her expression thoughtfully.

"Are you going to eat or not?" After Jia Shao's eyes met Zhen Lang's gaze and she had to suppress her arrogance. "I am very hungry."

The person standing at the door did not seem to have any intention to open the door and instead he walked slowly into the house. Poor Jia Shao could only follow behind him and waited for the great Emperor to speak.

*Gulu* A rumbling sounded from her stomach. This time she could not lie and she was really hungry.

She scratched her head and her eyes followed him.

Zhen Lang took off the coat of his western suit and his fingers slowly undid his shirt buttons. It seemed he did not have any intention to go out.

She stretched out her hand to pick up an apple and Jia Shao bit into it.

"The person who wanted to call a truce, come over and help." Rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, Zhen Lang stood at the kitchen door and waved at her. "If you perform well, I will consider."

The person holding an apple rushed up to him, took a big bite of the apple and looked in shock as Zhen Lang who was picking vegetables. "You don't expect me to cook, do you?"

Does he want to change his house or does he want to renovate? Is he going to let her burn down the house and then collect money from her for a renovation?

In response to her, a potato and a newspaper were shoved into her hands. "Today is the weekend and there are traffic jams. The restaurants are full and I guess it will be impossible to get anything to eat for the next hour. Cooking at home will be faster."

As long as there is something to eat, anything will do.

Jia Shao picked up the potato happily. This time the potato skins flew around wildly with the trash bin as the center point. Within a meter radius of the bin, there were potato skins all over the floor.

Holding the peeled potato with both hands, she shoved it in front of Zhen Lang. Her face was full of smiles and she asked. "Is this okay?"

He gave her another potato again. He had a calm expression on his face without showing any feelings.

"Why didn't you tell me just now?" She muttered.

"I didn't expect that you will give me a pocket-size potato after you were done with it, so you have to peel another one."

Once again the potato skins flew all over and a peeled skin fell on Zhen Lang's pants. Jia Shao did not hesitate and reached out her hands to grab it.

The black figure shook a little and her hand failed to catch it.

Squatting on the floor, she lifted her head and gave a chuckle. Pointing to the spot between his legs, the part below his waist, she said. "Skin!"

Zhen Lang reached out his hand and brushed it off. Without any expression, he continued to cut the vegetables and his voice was calm. "After you are done peeling, sweep the floor."

"Okay!" Someone obediently nodded her head and did not see the helplessness that flashed in the pair of black deep eyes.

"After eating, you have to wash the dishes."

Without thinking, the person happily peeling the potato answered. "Okay!"

"You have to clean up the kitchen."

"Okay!"

"The living room has not been moped today, so you will have to do it after eating."

"Okay!"

"After showering, you have to clean up the bathroom."

"Okay!"

"Later I will be cooking sweet soup for supper. Ladle out a bowl and bring it to me."

"Why should I bring it to you........." Someone finally raised her face with a dissatisfied expression.

"It was you who wanted a truce."

After a while, she finally nodded slowly. "Okay......"

Zhen Lang's movements were very smooth. While boiling soup, he quickly heated up the wok and fried the vegetables. From time to time, he would also check on the electric rice cooker.

Jia Shao holding the broom was watching his fluid movements. She did not understand why the same thing if done by her, would result in chaos.

From young until adult, it seems she had never seen him learn to cook but why is it that now he is so good at this? Could it be there are really geniuses in this world?

"Vegetables!" He pointed his finger at the vegetables floating in water in the sink and held out his palm in front of her.

She gathered her thoughts and clumsily scooped up the vegetables from the water into a colander. With water still trickling down she handed over the colander to Zhen Lang and instantly the water splashed on his clothes.

Zhen Lang looked at his clothes and Jia Shao's big eyes suddenly widened, looking hungrily at the pot of bubbling potatoes and roast meat in the pot and could not help but stretch out her tongue to lick her lips.

With a slight smile, he shook off the colander to remove excess water from the vegetables. "The person calling for a truce......mop the floor."

Putting the broom aside, Jia Shao mopped the water that she had splashed on the floor and panted breathlessly. From time to time, she would stop and think.

When it was time to eat, someone filled up two bowls of rice and good-naturedly handed a bowl of rice to Zhen Lang. From beginning to end, her big smile had never wavered.

Jia Shao had to admit that Zhen Lang's cooking was very suitable to her taste and she was still recollecting the delicious taste as she rested on the chair.

"The person calling for a truce......time to wash dishes......."

With just a few words, her comfort was shattered. With the agility of a leopard, Jia Shao jumped up and rushed into the kitchen.

*Peng!*

*Pa!*

*Kling! Clang!*

Various sounds connected into a string of sounds. On the sofa, Zhen Lang was smiling faintly as he looked at the figure in the kitchen that was jumping around non-stop and the occasional two or three exclamations that drifted out.

A head stuck out of the kitchen door. "Hey, Vet......"

Zhen Lang put on his habitual expressions with his eyebrows lifted and his deep gaze.

Swallowing her saliva, Jia Shao laughed sheepishly. "That is......all the bowls are already broken, can I continue washing them tomorrow?"

Dragging her feet and very self-consciously she grabbed the mop. Without waiting for Zhen Lang to speak, she jumped up and said. "I will mop the floor."

In the large living room, the strong figure ran from one side to the other side and back, pushing the mop in her hand while humming a joyful song. The whole room was filled with a lively atmosphere.

*Kala......*

"Aiya!......."

Zhen Lang's eyes flashed and automatically he placed a finger to the side of his nose but the corner of his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

Poor Jia Shao was holding up one half of the mop handle. "I.......I will buy and replace the mop tomorrow and I will continue to mop the floor tomorrow."

He stood up and walked past her. "I am going to take a shower."

"I will wash the bathtub!" Not waiting for Zhen Lang's reply, Jia Shao rushed into the bathroom like a whirlwind and there was a sound of gushing water. He could only sit down on the sofa again.

*Tong!*

"Pa!*

"Wa...!!!"

Again another series of sounds came out of the bathroom and Zhen Lang propped up his chin to wait quietly.

The person who was thoroughly wet rushed out of the bathroom and her hair was sticking to her forehead. With water still dripping from her sleeves, Jia Shao was holding a showerhead with a silly smile on her face. "This.......I really did not mean to do this. I just wanted to clean the bathtub and the result.......*he, he, he*........it fell off."

"I will buy one tomorrow!" She did not want to give Zhen Lang the opportunity to say anything and threw the showerhead into the trash bin. In a blink of an eye, there was a heap of damaged items in the trash bin.

The energetic woman picked up an apple and held it in the front of Zhen Lang. "I have cleaned the bathtub and it is still usable. Do you want to eat an apple first? Do you want me to cut it for you?"

This time, someone's hand was faster than her in picking up the knife. "I'll do it myself."

"Then I will go and ladle out a bowl of sweet soup to cool down for you."

When Zhen Lang came out of the bathroom feeling refresh, he saw a bowl of sweet soup held up in front of him. Her puppy-like fawning eyes flickered and flashed. "It has cooled down, you can drink it now."

He reached out his hand and took the bowl from her. The temperature of the warm soup was just right and under her eyes which were full of expectation, he slowly drank the soup. His mouth curved in a faint smile.

However, this smile did not last long. After half an hour, there were strange sounds coming from his stomach and he had to get up several times to go to the toilet. Just at the moment when the toilet door was locked, the fake smile on Jia Shao's face finally changed. Her smile had changed to a proud and happy smile after a successful scheme.

Rubbing her arms, she put her hands on her waist and curved her lips. The light in her eyes became brighter.

She tossed the small medicine bottle in her hand and hummed a melody as she walked into her room. After locking the door, she pounced onto her bed.

Dare to instruct her to do chores? See how he fares tomorrow morning!

In this way, no one will follow her on her blind-date tomorrow.

My broom star*, oh my broom star.......finally, I can get rid of you!

(The name Broom Star originated from the Comet because it has a tail of light and shaped like a broom. To the Chinese, it is an unlucky star which brings bad luck to the person and people around him. For easier reading, the word Jinx will be used in place of Broom Star because it sounds a bit awkward.)

Feeling a bit of pleasure, a bit of comfort and while listening to the sounds of flushing water from the toilet, she could not stop smiling.

In the early morning of the weekend, Jia Shao had woke up which was rare for her. She looked at the opposite door that remained closed and she washed up happily.

Just as she opened the main door while humming a melody with the intention of going out, the door of the room suddenly opened. A pair of dark eyes stared at her. "Are you going on a blind-date today?

Why is he awake? Jia Shao felt a bit annoyed.

If she had known, she would have poured the whole bottle of laxative into his sweet soup yesterday.

"Yes." She answered in a relaxed manner and pretended she did not know anything.

Zhen Lang went straight into the toilet and a wisp of air blew past. "Let's go together. I want to take a look."

How can this be? Does he still want to follow?

How will she go on a blind date when her unlucky star is with her?

"Even though my mother had instructed you, why bother to come since we loathe the sight of each other?" She said helplessly. "If you don't follow me, she wouldn't even know."

"You have broken the promise that you made to me first." Zhen Lang's words made her speechless.

So he did not forget after all.